Volatile day but ending positive
IN a very volatile day of trading, the FTSE 100 closed up 16.0 points yesterday at 4605.2. On the upside, mining stocks enjoyed a bounce after very heavy falls on Monday. Vedanta Resources jumped 102.0p to 1005p and ENRC climbed 33.2p to 458.75p.
In the life assurance sector, Standard Life gained 26.5p to 259.5p as its investment management arm Standard Life Investments announced that it has won a sizable investment mandate from Somerset County Council.
Sector peer Aviva rose 16.2p to 433.75p after a panel of EU lawmakers diluted measures to streamline how big insurers are supervised. Meanwhile beverages firm Diageo finished up 44.5p at 881.5p. On the downside, the banks were hit particularly hard as rumours circulated of capital requests from the Government. However, these rumours were subsequently denied by more than one major bank.
Royal Bank of Scotland fell 57.1p to 91.2p and HBOS tumbled 67.9 to 93p. Airline British Airways slid 16.9p to 128.1p.
Michelle Stansby – associate director – investment manager Barclays Wealth
